Libya and the World of Oil http://www.zcommunications.org/libya-and-the-world-of-oil-by-noam-chomsky

The world of oil provides useful guidance for western reactions to the remarkable democracy uprisings in the Arab world. An oil-rich dictator who is a reliable client is granted virtual free rein...Libya is a different case, an oil-rich state run by a brutal dictator, who, however, is unreliable: A dependable client would be far preferable.